Ericsson receives first order for e-services Starter Package

Ericsson receives first order for e-services Starter Package Ericsson has received the first order for its complete solution for delivery of new Internet based electronic services - e-services - to residential and small office users from Borlänge Energi. With the Ericsson e-services solution, Swedish utility Borlänge Energi plans to be first with a state-of-the-art, multi-service Internet, delivering innovative new services and fast, inexpensive Internet access. The e-services Starter Package contains all elements needed to create an e- services infrastructure. It includes e-box Service Gateways, a Service and Management Center, e-services applications and a development kit for design of additional e-services applications. Ericsson's e-box is based on the Open Service Gateway Specification (OSGi) under development, and enables an operator to start deployment of services for Internet access, home security, health care, energy control and more. Since it is using standard components it can easily be upgraded to a larger scale e- services delivery system as subscriber demand grows. The Ericsson e-box has attracted strong market and media interest since being launched earlier this year. Industry deregulation of telecomm and other utilities, in combination with the proliferation of consumer products with embedded microprocessor technologies is creating new business opportunities for delivery of bundled communication and other services for the home. The Ericsson e-box opens the way for new and incumbant operators to exploit these opportunities, and at the same time provide innovative new services to their customers. "It is strategically important for us to be first with a commercial implementation of e-services using the Ericsson e-box," says Calle Lindroth, Marketing Manager for IT services at Borlänge Energi. "We want to partner with many different other service providers so that we can offer our customers a full range of innovative products and services, as well as telephony and low-cost, fast access to the Internet." Borlänge Energi is already testing the e-box for distance workers with 'Vägverket', the Swedish National Road Administration. In the initial phase, Borlänge Energi is replacing current ISDN connections with a fixed Internet connection for a pilot group of employees working from home in the Borlänge area. "Borlänge Energi has a great deal of experience with providing Internet based services. We are especially pleased that such a mature and knowledgeable operator has chosen Ericsson's e-services solution to expand and refine the scope of their offerings," says Anders Rydström, Director of Marketing for New Operators Segments and Public Utilities at Ericsson's Swedish sales organization. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Antoinette Torell, Ericsson Corporate Communications Phone: +46 70 519 3699; E-mail: antoinette.torell@lme.ericsson.se Rolf Johansson, Marketing Manager, e-services Ericsson New and Special Business Operations Phone: +46 8 404 57 75, +46 70 559 29 62 E-mail: rolf.johansson@era.ericsson.se Anders Rydström, Marketing Director New Operators Segments and Public Utilities, Ericsson Sverige Phone: + 46 8 579 182 32, + 46 705 614 300, E-mail: anders.rydstrom@ese.ericsson.se Company Information Borlänge Energi AB is a wholly owned company of Borlänge Community. In 1998 the company had a turnover of approximately USD 50 million (SEK 412 million) and 184 employees. Borlänge Energi provides a broad array of services and products through its installed infrastructure for electricity, district heating, water and sewerage, and communications. The communications network includes Bitnet, a data communications network serving the city of Borlänge. In cooperation with Dalnet Communications, Sonera Sweden, and Enator Dotcom, Borlänge Energi markets and sells a range of IT services to businesses, organizations and households. About e-box The e-box Service Gateway is a combined thin server and communications gateway. Through its open architecture, the e-box connects to appliances in the home via technologies such as Ethernet and LonTalk today and Bluetooth, DECT, FireWire, Home PNA and others in the future. In the same way, the e-box leverages the value of existing wide area wireline and wireless networks while providing flexibility towards 3G, ADSL and other high speed access technologies. The highly reliable Ericsson e-box Service Gateway also enables service providers to cost effectively deploy new offerings without investing in dedicated communication networks per service. To learn more about Ericsson's e-services concept and the e-box Service Gateway, visit http://www.ericsson.se/ebox ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/24/19990824BIT00070/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/24/19990824BIT00070/bit0002.pdf